Speeches by Franklin.

“I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.”

“I beg to ask leave to withdraw the motion. Clause, by leave, withdrawn.”

“I thank the Minister for her comments, but I sadly remain unconvinced that we are addressing the significant problems that overseas voters are encountering when they seek to be involved with our democracy. They may live overseas, but they are still British citizens and deserve to be able to cast their vote. I will not …”

“I beg to ask leave to withdraw to withdraw the motion. Clause, by leave, withdrawn. New Clause 8 Overseas electors: Review of feasibility of proposals for facilitating overseas ballots “(1) Within six months of the passing of this Act, the Secretary of State must publish and lay before both Houses of Parliament a repor…”

“I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time.”

“New clause 6, tabled by my hon. Friend the Member for Newton Abbot (Martin Wrigley), picks up on the 2024 voting reforms that expanded eligibility for around 1.4 million to 3.4 million people—yet of those individuals, only 191,000 overseas voters are registered. I suggest that that is not a lack of interest in democrac…”

“I beg to move, That the clause be read a Second time. As has come up repeatedly in the Committee, trust in elections is in a very difficult place at the moment. As MPs, we really need to consider how we can address the lack of confidence that the public have in our political system and, frankly, in the voting system th…”

“May I take this opportunity to wish you a happy Easter, Mr Speaker? Under the previous Government, youth funding was reduced by approximately 70% and universal provision was impacted the most. Although we on the Liberal Democrat Benches welcome the youth strategy, I am very concerned that local government reorganisatio…”

“Just before Easter, a development of 500-plus homes in my constituency, predicated on building a brand-new Howard of Effingham school, was withdrawn after a decade of commitment to the plan. The developer is expected to proceed with a new application without a school. The community and school are understandably angry a…”

“It is deeply disappointing that this matter is being addressed today through an urgent question, and was not addressed yesterday through a proper statement from the Government. As I have said, the Liberal Democrats support devolution and reorganisation where that strengthens communities, but changes must be locally led…”

“I am grateful to the Secretary of State for his comments. The Rycroft report has come at a really important time. As a member of the Bill Committee, I look forward to working with the Government to ensure that all the recommendations are brought through, because they are incredibly important. I return to the comment of…”

“It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship, Dame Siobhain. As my hon. Friend the Member for Hazel Grove set out clearly, we Liberal Democrats support the Government on automatic voter registration. I have just one question for the Minister: can she confirm which datasets the Government plan to use when piloting A…”

“Q For transparency, I met Dr Garland along with various other democracy organisations prior to this Bill Committee. My questions are about how we make our democracy more representative. In your view, to what extent does the fact that the access to elected office fund no longer exists mean that those who are from more d…”

“Q On that note, I have tabled an amendment about that exact thing—section 106—which specifically asks for the Electoral Commission to be the repository. Do you think that having a centralised hub would be particularly helpful, because it would allow us to look at the data, identify where the issues are and act on that?…”

“Q I guess the question is whether there is more that could be done, potentially through this Bill, to empower every single person in our democracy to vote. Councillor Golds: I have witnessed this several times in my life. I remember, after ’83, taking a blind woman to vote and watching the presiding officer do the proc…”

“Q I had a quick question about the accessibility of polling stations for people with disabilities. As a quick example, I spoke to someone who talked about how their son, who has a severe learning disability, really wanted to vote. They had talked it through beforehand, but he really struggled in the voting booth, and o…”

“Q I want to talk a little about automatic and automated registration. This question is for all members of the panel: do you think that there should be active promotion of British citizens living overseas joining the register? A couple of members of the panel have already touched upon that. I have a second part of the s…”

“Q I have a second question. The Joint Committee on the National Security Strategy recommended a temporary ban on crypto donations until there is statutory guidance. From your perspective and understanding of crypto, do you agree? Expanding a bit more, is there anything you would recommend in any guidance on crypto? Ale…”

“Q Can I go on to the issue of online attacks on candidates, their families and people involved in elections? Social media platforms play a massive role in the distribution of things like misinformation, disinformation and deepfakes. Is there more that the Bill could do to put a requirement on social media platforms to …”

“Q For transparency, I have met representatives of Full Fact in preparation for the Bill. I want to talk about doxing, and my understanding is that it is not currently within the scope of the Bill. For anyone who is not on top of doxing, it is where information is gathered about you and then dropped online so that peopl…”